Korg MS2000

Korg MS2000

Here's the rack version... gorgeous looking bit of kit eh?..!

Well, you could say the Ms2000 is a bit like 2 Electribe synths bolted together... You get Four voices in total each can be a twin oscillator voice or an audio input ...And like the MonoPoly & the Juno 106 etc, the four voices can be stacked in Unison mode to make big layered sounds... obviously if you do that it is a monosynth cos all 4 voices are stacked.

This only just appeared at the NAMM trade show, so there is scarce info on the www... it's not even on Korgs main 'www.korg.com' website at the date of posting this... Anyways, it's available soon for a rrp of $1100.00 (keyboard) and $799.00 (rack/tabletop) ... although the street price'll be lower, especially after a few months from release... so you can start saving!!...

some one reviewed it and said it is only 2 part multi for sure, which is a shame if correct, cos if this was 4 part, it'd be huge!!....

This unit, and the Electribes, Z1 & Prophecy before it, are based on Korgs 'Oasys' modelling algorythms... for the MS2000 the Korg UK site says:

'The MS2000/MS2000R provide two oscillators per voice with a choice of up to eight types of oscillator algorithms, including waveforms of analog synthesizers. There is also a special Digital Waveform Generator System (DWGS) that was first used on the KORG DW8000 synths in the 1980's which allows a single cycle digitally generated waveform to be assigned to the first oscillator. Sixty-four DWGS waveforms are available that include Analog sounds and Electric Pianos, Guitars, Basses and Bells'

Available in two formats; either the 44 keys version or rack/tabletop version... each of the MS2000 units' 4 voices feature the following structure.. :

A waveform can be connected in to the AUDIO IN 1 & 2 jacks and process in the same way as the internal waveforms... Additionaly the osc' source select can be vox wave for the vocoder inputs

'Virtual Patch Function'

This old 'MS' style way of allowing some sources to modulate the oscillator signal, is recreated in a similar way to synths like the nova & supernova's 'mod matrix' with select buttons - you select a source and a destination and there must be with each selection of 'Source & 'Destination', a setting for depth/amount which is handled by 4 rotary controls... the 'Source' is the 'Controller, whatever it sends out will effect the 'Destination assigned to it... So if you choose one of the EG's, that will control the 'Destinations' like: pitch, noise level or pan position etc of the destination...

the sources are:

EG 1

EG 2

LFO_1

LFO_2

velocity

keyboard tracking

MIDI 1

MIDI 2

the destinations are

Pitch

Cutoff

Osc_2 pitch

Osc_1 control_1

Noise level

Pan

Amp

LFO 2 Freq'

This 'Virtual Patch' SOURCE section selector also has a dual-function button labeled: FC MOD SOURCE If you depress that, you are then selecting the modulation source for the Filter control, not the oscillators... There is also 4 rotary DRIVE/AMOUNT controls labeled: Patch_1 to 4...with a multi-press select switch... so.. you press the switch marked: SELECT - and then select the source, and destination routing, and tweak how much the modulation will drive with the rotary controller... a handy red LED marker shows you easily which part/voice you are routing...

1 Filter

Four filter types are modeled in the MS2000

12db lo-pass

24 dB lo-pass

band pass

high pass

resonance control that goes to self-oscillation

ADSR envelope generators (EG), assignable to filter

keyboard tracking sensitivity

additionally, you can see there is a control to fine tune the sensitivity of the filter control mod source is set to keyboard tracking...

1 amp

2 ADSR Envelope Generators (EG's)

2 LFO's

four-waveforms choices

MIDI-syncable

Programmable Effects

three Delay types

Distortion

Chorus/Flanger

phaser

chorus/flange

ensemble

2-band EQ section

Arpeggiator

The MS2000/MS2000R provides an arpeggiator that allows you to produce arpeggios simply by holding down a chord. You can choose from six arpeggio types, and also specify the duration and spacing of the arpeggiated notes six different patterns, along with adjustable gate and swing parameters

16-band Vocoder.

By connecting a mic to the AUDIO IN 1,2 jacks the MS2000/MS2000R can be used as a four-voice vocoder. In addition to using two 16-bank filter sets to simulate the vocoder sounds of classic equipment you can create original vocoder sounds by shifting the filter frequency, or adjusting the level and pan of individual frequency bands.

Mod sequencer

Mod sequence is a step sequencer that lets you apply time-varying change to sound parameters in a way similar to analog synthesizers of the past - think of it like say Seq-303 s/w sequencer, (d/load it from Dt & try it to see), where you can set steps on a 16 beat grid, and assign each step to a pitch/note and/or other parameters for controlling synthesis & other destinations.. so in the simplest form you can have a sequence where each step effect the filter in a certain way.. or you can hold a note or chord and it'll evolve in steps.... you can also assign step length so it is like an old midi sequencer which stepped out evolving patterns each step altering the timbre or pitch in some way... anyways, you can have three of these sequences used simultaneously for voice..!! blimey!...

Well, this has potential winner written on over it, certainly looks loverlee... looks like an awesome little techno-box !!... no stupid gimmicks or half-assed sampling features, just a solid very comprehensive creative multi-synth, fully featured, landing right slap-bang into pattern creation territory, a unit like this could be a trance techno or clubsounds dream, yet it has the 'classic' synthesis capabilities to cover anything else from hard-corest of techno's and industrial to blasting basses and creepy atmoshpheric evolving sounds for the darkest drum & bass etc... there is a few points to consider tho...

it is only 2 parts but priced in with other 4 or 6 part competitors.

to win people over to paying the same for less parts, it'll have to sound very good

Well... the Electribes were awesome little boxes... DM110/220 combo for the 90's, two of the best products released for years... and this MS could put the icing on Korgs cake... let's see how it sounds & works in real life i guess, , but if it ends up with a 650 ish street price, you'd have to think it was alot better than say a Nova or Microwave to go for it... oh yes... You got midi IN-OUT-THRU - 9V DC POWER ...

This looks great. I have the Electribes, and my main complaint is the lack of voices. The EA-1 is nice for a lead line and a bass line, but I want chords too. I hope this unit addresses this issue. Also, does anyone know if there are audio inputs to effect an external source (besides the vocoder-which is great)? I can always use more filters.

It's already out in the Netherlands.Have been working with it for about a week now, and i'm absolutely amazed!Great user interface for the virtual patches and the sequencer! This is the best V.Analogue in my studio(2x Z1,Prophecy,Supernova,EA1,JP8080,Nordrack1). It kicks everythings butt, including the Z1 (only for analogue parts of course)The sound diversity is amazing, due to the dwgs waves, and the presets are very good fordance/trance & electronic stuff.I was more impressed with this machine than the Q, and the software is finished as well 8)Enjoy!!!

We tried one out at Stockholm's Keyboard City this saturday. It's filled with the usual bag of preset sounds; sounds that will be overused just like the factory presets of the D-50 and many other popular synths of the past. However, browsing through the banks and sounds was a breeze, and almost every sound was a good example of what you can do with the synthesis. In contrary to the aforementioned D-50; with this little bastard it's also easy to DO those sounds yourself. Try programming Digital Native Dancer on a D-50, from scratch... :-D

The price on the rack version looks awesome and I think I will be adding one of these to my setup shortly. I really love the fact that it's so easily operated, looks good and feels great to play with. It's much more versatile than many other synths, such as the Nord Lead 2, for instance. It comes with fewer voices, but that may not be a big problem; probably, you have a JV to do the bread-and-butter stuff anyway. This synth is for the small extras; the unique sounds that can add THAT spice to a song. I'm fascinated by the "wave sequence" type of thing which it has, that proves for easy creation of ultra-complicated sounds. This feature alone, is worth dying for if you'd like to create sounds that _really_ evolve over time. Some of the presets also put the arpeggio to great effect by using that for nice sequencer-type of effects, too. Sometimes, we fundly held one key for about 30 seconds and just said "well, it's a hit song, you know!"... of course, a bit more is requested to make a hit song, but anyway... plenty of inspirational sounds to find in these new machines.

I had the Nord Micro Modular, too, but I ended up selling it, because I couldn't stand the fact that it really needed a computer all the time. Creating a good sound took about 2 hours... i'm too relentless for that.

Sound-wise, these new Korg bastards deliver nothing new really, though. If all you're after is rather simple analogue sounds, then there's plenty of machines that does the job as good but for less money; the DW8000 is one, the Juno is another, AN1x is another... but if what you're after is _really_ animated and _complicated_ sounds, then you should check this machine out.

The wooden ends on the keyboard version makes it soooo hard to choose the rack model, though... :-D ...A minor problem, maybe...

Oh, one more thing: KORG IS BACK. I've never liked the M1 variants which still are in production (Korg Trinidad, or whatever that space ship is called). This one is a _real_ synthesizer. For those of us who still appreciate the Minimoog and the OB synths.

I must finish this of with a little aneqdoute for y'all (sorry if I spelled that wrong, I'm after all Swedish...)... well now hear this: A friend of mine spotted a special-special synth a few weeks ago, in a swedish store. A sales rep passed by and showed it to special customers only: It was the NEW Yamaha CS 2000. Strange, huh?! :-) It shows that Korg and Yamaha essentially are the same company nowadays. No, really - they are! Yamaha owns it all. But I guess they decided that Korg was in need of a decent new synth. Good choice... :-) For me, Korg is now "back on the track" as a manufacturer of great instruments.

I tried this one only shortly at the music shop.. I haven't fully tried the whole thing out so don't rely too heavily on this comment but anyway here we go -> well the filters ..err.. suck.. sounded too digital & thin for my taste. And those plastic ->tinyOverall the presets sounded nice - classic techno sounds at their best .. at least compared to many other synths (the z1 presets sound more like a school band or something). Anyway like I said before I didn't have time to try this synth much but it already seems to me that korg could've done better.

WOW! Ihave just bought one of the first MS-2000 keyboards to arrive in the UK, and I must say it is fantastic ! The sound has character and a personality that most other synths would kill for and with a UK price of £699.00 for the keyboard / £599.00 for the rack, it is a must-have. The vocoder is great too, as you can actually understand what is being said through it !For me, Korg could not have done better - as they say in the matrix, it is THE ONE.

ijust took a trip to see the ms2000 and i have to say korg is not playing games. if anyone who reads this needs to know that this comment can not do this fine piece of gear justice so get down to your music shop and hear it and if its not on display demand them geting it. so {CLEAR THE WAY} IPDX will be buying two.

Went to Guitar Center and saw one on display for $639. Immediatly went home and exchanged my EA-1 and paid the remander. VERY nice piece of equipment. It's perfect for me, since I don't have the $ for a Virus, or other big league VA. It's basically the JP-8080's little bitch of a sister. It does everything the EA-1 did and more (in fact if you want it to be an ea-1 turn the voices to 1 and set the amp envelope to gate). Played with the Vocoder at like midnight last night (I think i've truly scared my neighbors, who wouldn't be with me using the "vocodevil" patch and screaming about not having any ice cream). I played mostly with the presets since I didn't have that much time with it yet. Here is the deal if you already have a big VA or 2 don't bother. The sounds are full, but you won't be getting much that you don't already have. If you are like me though, and this is your first synth with a friggin envelope it's perfect. For the price it really can't be beat. Now i'm not going to say it's as nice as the MS-20 you analog nazis rave about, but for a newbie this is a nice synth.

i returned to my musicstore this evening to further investigate on the MS2000......after some playing around i noticed the following in the filter section: the cut-off seems to have an active range of only a little more than 50% of the controller-knob....and when resonance is turned up the whole sound dissapears, and going from low to high to self-oscillating resonance isn't a smooth process..especially from high res to self-oscillation is like a switch or something that kicks in the self-oscillating...and as i said the whole base-sound dissapears....the filters on my roland juno6 do sound a lot smoother...

anyway: just my opinion, i still like it a lot...did anyone else notice this in the filter section???

Well, what can i say, i tried the rack version and i wasn't to impressed, there was a certain "plastic" quality to the sound and the possibillitys (modulation wise) could have been a lot more.. I mean for god sake it's all digital, there are no limits. Look at a small machine like the nord micro modular, there's a lot of stuff going on inside that one! But it's quite cheep, and as soon as i saw the keyboard version, wow instant hard on!! What a design!

It sounds great! The price is a tad bit more competitive than similar units (Roland's JP 8080 being closest). an MS-2000 with keyboard is retail 1100 with a street price probably between 900-1000. Honestly I believe its a good buy.I'd give it a five, except it's only two parts multi, which is a shame. I'm not going to let that hold me back however; )

I went to pick up a virus b at GC, but I saw the MS2000. I played with it for 1.5 hours. It's a fun synth with some teeth. The price isn't bad either. I did notice the sounds blanking out when the filter & resonance were thrown around. The knobs are horrible, but nothing an external box couldn't fix. I decided to pick up the korg over the virus though. I still love the virus, but the korg will have a spot in my studio.

This box is so versatile. I have played around with it _many_ hours now, and I see no end of its possibilities. It is a _hell_ of a lead synth, and could be used as such by a very broad range of electronic musicians; not only techno/dance but also electronica/industrial and maybe also jazz =). I'm no expert, but comparing this one with tht analogs I've tested is really doable. A caveat is of course the discrete nature of the digital knobs. The presets are in my humble opinion not so good, but the tweaker very soon will find how to make it sound like they want anyway. The MS2000(R) has very nice and warm sound for a pure digital synth and extra oompf can be added using the built-in twopole EQ. The two best things to do with this is IMO basses and weird lead-sounds. Someone said there was something strange about the filters. I can sencond that to a certain degree; the cutoff-range is 0-127, wich is like 0-15000Hz maybe. However, this is modulated by a number of sources, and the cutoff knob is relative not absolute. As a bread&butter technobox this is not what you want. If you however want pickled herring and a schnapps to your sandwich, the MS2000 might be the way to go.

Well, I played with this thing at my local music shop and I was NOT impressed. Even my two-year old 8080 outperforms this box... The programming (as in the presets, I mean) are more up to date and sound less cheesy than most to my ears, but who uses presets anyway? The filter is weak, man. Crank the resonance and it's silence... I now appreciate my 8080, big time. But, I must say, I'd still rather have this box than 2 electribes and it is a good VA lead synth. However, *I* would never buy this box. For $300 more you could have a used 8080, Nord, Nova or Virus, all of which (especially the latter two) are superior in my opinion.

Help! I am a DJ seriously considering purchasing the MS2000 as the first real synth to add to my arsenel of equipment. I'm looking for sounds anywhere from Richie Hawtin, Atomic Babies to Sven vath and the likes. My setup currently consists of 3 Pioneer CDJ500II's, 2 1200's, Roland DJ-2000, casio SK-1,Yamaha DJX (don't laugh)as well as 2 pentium PC's. Is this synth adaquet? Does it contain the Electibe A and R or just A? Can I control the rack mount version from my DJX? Any suggestions on where to go from here?

Would the world please take notice.YOU CAN BUY REAL ANALOG SYNTHESIZERS FROM EUROPE STARTING@$200 US.REAL MODULAR SYNTHESIZERS START@$500.Let's see you try that w/any VA.SEND THE VAs back to the VA hospital.If I misspelled anything please forgive me I spend more time w/ REAL sytnthesizers and vocoders(by the way which you can score for $650)than I do w/ english books.DON'T BE A MODEL.BE REAL.

Thats great why bother, but most of cant get to europe, let alone find a web page selling em that cheap, and i myself like to play with the keyboard first not just buy it and realize i ordered crap. True the ms-2000 will never be a ms-20, it really wasnt supposed to be one. Uh by the way if anyone has a ms-20 they wanna sell let me know.

WB: would you care to elucidate any? Are you talking about vintange, or new stuff? If you're talking about new, please, for the love of god, point me in the direction of a $200 analog with a good midi implementation

BRAND NEW.Touched by SOUND makes drum synth modules that you trigger VIA MIDI for $195 US.Contact Enport(look it up in yahoo) this is a US company.I have done business w/ them and it's all good.Enport also stocks synthesizers by Doepfer,Analog Solutions($500 modular),Analog Systems,&Sherman Filter Banks.Also check out www.drummachine.com for Seekers Voice Spectra vocoders,technosauras synthesizers(world's smallest monosynth$299 or $399 w/ midi),and other really cool gear.Check out www.synthzone.com for links to great synthesizers(click on "more synths and keyboards" and scroll down a bit).other great synthesizer companies include,but are not limited to,Jomox,Syntechno,Future Retro Synthesizers( the 777 is $777 and is like a 303 gone mad),&Orgon(Energizer).The secrets are out so have fun w/ your new addiction.Most if not all of these synthesizers do not allow you to save your sounds so apretty decent sampler is a must.YOU CANNOT DUPLICATE ANALOG W/ %100 ACCURACY.VOLTAGE IS CONSTANT.DIGITAL IS ON AND OFF(What happens when it is off?).I'll shut up now.

The MS-2000 is a great synth,and great value! I have a large collection of old mono and polysynths, and the MS sounds very convincingly analogue. The mod sequencer is incredible, and it's uses are endless (try single-shot mode for three 16-step tweakable envelopes...).Also, you can modulate LFO2 with itself, which acts as a pulse width/waveshaper for the LFO waveform... very interesting. Soundwise, I'd place it between a JP-6 and a Matrix 6, with a bit of ARP Odyssey thrown in for good measure. The only problem? Not enough polyphony, but treat it as two mono's and you're fine.All told, an excellent synth and value.

i really think the filters are not good...a bad digital implementation of analog selfoscillating resonant filters.....even with the keyboard-tracking turned off the effective cut-off range isn't 100%, and when turning up the resonance way too much bottomend is removed due to lack of headroom or preventing digital clipping/distortion..

for around 600 US dollars more i'm gonna get me an Access Virus Indigo...loads of knobs, very good and flexible sound, audio ins, vocoder, 6 seperate outs, VERY flexible modulation-matrix (27 sources, 90 destinations), 82 effects at once, 16 part multitimbral and 24 voices....

the filters ARE bad modelling of self oscillation makes all the low end of the sound to diseapear even wit a c-1(midi note number 0) played :(over all, nice synth for the price but if you look for a REAL synthesizer, go for a REAL synth , not this virtual modelling of real voltage controled gearTb-A03

Ok Ok I think we all know about the filter issue. I have the ER and EA and there is the similar problem with the cutoff filter being only about 50% effective and the low end completely disapearing when the resonance is up too high. I still bought the MS 2000 though. I considered the Nova, Darkstar, and Microwave. Everyone says well just for 300.00, 600.00 more you can get this and that. Well thats esasier said than done for most people. IMO the Ms 2000 offers quality very usable sounds with the mod sequencer that gives it uniqueness and a vocoder to boot. The other bummer is 2 part multi. Its appropriately priced for what it gives. I think I will add a Waldorf pulse for those real analog filters later on, the Juno 60 suffices for that long sweep stuff for now. Good luck to all.

Yes, all the korgs have problems with filters, but the MS2k vocoder is _really_ good, compared to, for example, Sirius. Don't have myself, but I've played with it quite a bit at the store.If you're got extra cash burning in your pocket I'd say go for it.

I got mine. It's my first analog synth, so I dont have much to compare it to, but I like it for the most part. Sux thats its only 4 voices... I'm using it for hardcore breaks, and for that it's got a nice little "distortion" button that does wonders for making music that pisses people off when combined with the noise knob. This thing is great by itself, and probably even better with an existing true analog synth.

Bought one on friday and its lovethis is the best sounding syth I have heard in years and it feels like a vintage too I've owned Oberheims and prophets and this beats em all In my opiion the best analogue there is4 voice sucks tho'

Can you run audio in to the ms2000 and do a gate effect to it which is synched to midi time clock? Maybe assign an LFO along with an envelope set to sharp attack and a short release time?? My understanding is that the Electrotribe does this??? Any other boxes that do this? Are there gate boxes with seperate trigger input vs. audio being gated? Thanks.

i am in no way a pro when it comes to advise. but as far as i can tell the MS_2000 sounded very similar to the the roland juno 106 located in the same room. to me! so i guess if i had $450 for the roland and $700 for the ms-2000. i would save up a few more bucks for the korg! and as far as i can tell the korg makes the best emulations of (REAL?) juno 106 i have heard. keep in mind. i do not find alot of the VA units out there to be vertual at all. except the ms2000. and all of the VA,s i have heard. (all except the new oberhiem) have a unique sound of there own. that is OK with me except i have a hard time buying them all. the latest one i have heard was the tabletop nova (gritty as hell) and i loved it. nothing like the supernova i heard on a few occations. (whispy and etherial) to dog any of these VA,s would be to limit my capabilities for sounds i did or did not want. virus B sounds gritty also but even better than that it makes the spacy stuff. the Q is very expansive kinda like using DYNAMO but faster. if i had the bucks this item would be my main synth. the nord is very much like a real analog also, but i found it limeted when it came to ease of use. the presets are cortina powered. the roland jp-8000 is pretty cool but the keyboard is anoying.and no midi thru,s? and crumby keys. 41? and the korg Z-1 is really cool also but in no way does it sound analog! so what! keep in mind that these are the opinions from a rookie player but an experianced listener. and as a listener i wanna hear new shit not the old stuff all the time. even tho i still feel 303 is god! O damn am i regresing?

This unit is fantastic - I will sing nothing but praises for it. Since I bought it, the ms2000 has been a trigger that has brought new songs out of me like a rocket (not a feature or anything, but it has helped for certain in the inspiration dept). Sounds good, looks good (fake wood on the sides), plays good.

Have been workin' with it for about a year now . . . you can get so much from that machine, really good piece of work! haven't exactly figured out how to work with virtual patch but will surely do. Really nice piece of kit

Best synth ever for price? I really love the timbre, mod, and arp semi-modular routing and options on this beasts. 4 voices? Who cares! the MS2000 more than makes up for it with loads of other features. Besides, as an MS 4 voices kind of makes sense. Not 1 but more than 2... which is nice. And since it's almost a direct update of the Mono/Poly + the DW8000... it's enough to get any synthlover wet.

If you're looking for a synthesizer capable of recreating awesome vintage analogue sounds, then you must check out the Tarkus. The Tarkus features four sixteen step Sequencers, Arpeggiator and Multi-Effects which include Chorus, Phaser, Delay, Distortion and EQ. If you're lucky enough to own a Korg MS2000, then you can use the MS2000's control surface to edit most of the Tarkus's common control parameters.